You’re Not Even Safe in a Courtroom in Honduras: Today’s Shoot-out in El Progreso
/A few hours ago, a shoot-out occurred in the courthouse in the city of El Progreso, department of Yoro. It began inside the courthouse but shots were also fired outside in front of the building.
Based on preliminary reports, at least three state security forces including National Police and Military Police were killed and at least six injured. Allegedly, some civilians were also injured and have been hospitalized.
Apparently the shoot-out involved a planned operation to free a Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang leader named Alexander Mendoza or “El Porky.” Mendoza had been heavily guarded and brought to the courthouse for unknown reasons. Mendoza was imprisoned in the Tamara prison, just north of the capital city, Tegucigalpa.
According to initial reports, a Military Police vehicle was used by Mendoza and his collaborators to carry-out their operation. Individuals that were close to where the incident occurred report that a protected witness dressed from head-to-toe in a black cape, may have collaborated with the escape operation, as well as some of the security forces that were allegedly guarding Mendoza.
Now, the Honduran government is offering one million lempiras for information about Mendoza, who is on the loose.
From Tamara prison to maximum-security then back to Tamara prison
In April 2019, Mendoza was one of 12 “feared” and “dangerous” gang leaders who was transported by helicopter to the maximum-security prison La Tolva in Morocelí, El Paraíso.
At the time of this heavily guarded and widely reported transfer, President Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH) gave a press conference and specifically mentioned Mendoza: “the three [Mendoza and two more] were convicted to 20 years in prison after being arrested for their leadership in criminal groups, extortion, and arms and drug trafficking in San Pedro Sula, in the northern region of Honduras.”
JOH also said: “this happens sometimes … that by judicial orders, they end up in the Tamara [jail]. There, they are totally relaxed committing crimes – the rule is that if they are dangerous, they have to go to a maximum-security prison.”
So why was Mendoza imprisoned in the Tamara prison after he was taken last year BY HELICOPTER – because of his highly dangerous status - to La Tolva jail? Why was Mendoza brought to the courthouse if he has already been sentenced?
Important questions to ask while considering:
1. JOH justified the thousands of dollars (millions?) spent to construct U.S.-style maximum-security prisons to jail “dangerous and feared criminals” involved in “organized crime.”
2. Several massacres last year inside Honduran prisons left dozens dead, and again, exposed the false assumption that maximum-security prisons are safer, not affected by corruption, and successfully help implement JOH’s national security plan. After all, maximum-security prisons are at the center of JOH’s national security plan and efforts to “combat organized crime.”
3. Control of the national prison system, and most likely all the decisions related to it, was officially handed over to the Honduran military after the massacres last year inside the prisons. Decisions like transporting prisoners, like Mendoza, is likely to have been made by the military unit in charge.
Not Safe in Courthouses or Near Police Stations in Honduras
As the security situation continues to deteriorate in the country, police stations and courthouses are definitely not safe. Just in the last three months, there have been at least three attacks either by courthouses - like today’s - or close to or inside police stations. The most recent ones committed close to police stations:
On December 6, 2019: A man was killed inside the Trujillo police station in the afternoon. Two police were working inside the police station when the incident occured. At least seven armed individuals went into the station and killed a man that was being held behind bars inside the post.
On December 12, 2019: A public bus driver was shot and killed “three meters from the police station in the Las Brisas neighbourhood” in Tegucigalpa.